Posted on 4/12/125 by Bob Magee
– Joe Tessitore welcomed everyone into the show as shots of
Seattle aired. Those shots quickly turned into shots of
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
– Drew McIntyre, Damian Priest, Berto, Angel, Santos
Escobar, Rey Fenix and Cody Rhodes were all shown in various
places backstage.
– Footage of Kevin Owens’s announcement from last week
aired. Nick Aldis was shown in the middle of the ring.
The Nick Aldis/Randy Orton/Solo Sikoa segment
I was really kind of hoping they’d put Aldis in the spot
with Orton for Mania, but it appears that won’t be the case.
It was odd – the crowd seemed to pop for the idea at first,
but when Aldis talked about working his ass off for 20 years
to get to WWE and then paused for what he presumably thought
would be some cheers, you could hear a pin drop. Anyway, I
can’t say Orton vs. Sikoa at Mania does much for me, but
perhaps they’ll make it interesting with a pivot between now
and then. Here’s hoping Aldis gets a shot to actually lace
them up in WWE someday, though. He really did work his ass
off for 20 years to get there.
Loud Randy Orton chants broke out as Aldis spoke. Aldis said
he was instructed to maintain his professionalism, and
because he’s a man of his word, he invited Randy Orton to
come to the ring. Orton’s music hit and Orton made his way
to the ring. The crowd was hot for the segment as Aldis and
Orton stood quiet. Orton said he could tell by the look in
Aldis’s eyes that he took last week very, very personally.
Orton recalled how he gave Aldis an RKO a year ago and he
paid a fine. Orton said he paid a fine for last week’s RKO
and because of that, they are even.
Orton said he wanted to speak to Aldis about not having a
match at WrestleMania. Orton said it would be his 20th time
competing at WrestleMania and Orton needed Aldis to do his
job and get Orton an opponent. Orton said he didn’t what it
took – perhaps Aldis could lose his suit for the night and
gear up for the night. Aldis said he busted his ass for 20
years to make it to the WWE – he then paused and the crowd
booed. Aldis said he didn’t need Orton’s money; he needed
Orton’s respect. The crowd chanted “RKO!” loudly.
Orton said Aldis has his respect, but if Aldis doesn’t
deliver on a match for Orton, he can’t apologize to Mickie
James for doing what he’s going to do if he doesn’t get his
match. Solo Sikoa’s music hit and Sikoa walked out with Tama
Tonga. Sikoa told Aldis to tell Orton to get out of the
ring. Sikoa said nobody wanted to hear Orton cry. Sikoa said
nobody cares if Orton has a Mania match and it’s over for
Orton because he’s in the past. Sikoa said Jacob Fatu will
walk out of Mania as the new U.S. Champion while Orton will
be sitting at home all alone.
Orton said it was funny that they had the balls to interrupt
him. Orton talked about how his voices have been knocking
and he invited them into the ring to beat “two Samoan boys
up.” Sikoa and Tonga stepped into the ring and the numbers
got the best of Orton as Aldis sat at ringside. LA Knight’s
music hit and Knight ran to the ring to even things out.
Knight and Orton got the best of Sikoa and Tonga. Knight
grabbed a microphone and said, “again, again and again, it’s
the same damn thing” with Sikoa and Tonga. Knight challenged
Sikoa and Tonga to a match between them and Orton and
Knight. Aldis made the match official for later.
**********
– A video recap of Pat McAfee’s Big Night Aht aired.
– Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez sat at ringside for the
next match.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria won the No. 1 Contender’s Gauntlet
Match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [20:02 of TV
time]
This might have been the expected outcome, but there was a
lot of really good action in this thing, even if it was
brief – some of the legs of the gauntlet only lasted a
couple minutes when it came to what was actually shown on
television. Still, everyone on every team worked hard and
this exceeded my expectations. With commercials, it took up
about 40 minutes of the first hour of the show, so that’s
got to mean something … right? Meanwhile, I wonder if this
leads to Bayley vs. Valkyria Part 2 after their very good
match on Monday’s Raw. The biggest ball of fire here? Carter
& Chance, who came in looking inspired and brought a bunch
of high-octane moments to their limited time in the match.
Good on them for making the most of what they were given.
Really, though – good on everyone involved for making the
most of what was given to them.
Lyra Valkyria & Bayley squared off against Shayna Baszler &
Zoey Stark to begin the gauntlet. Bayley and Baszler began
the match with Baszler working Bayley’s arm. Stark tagged in
and kept the attention on Bayley’s arm. Bayley came back
with an arm-drag, but Stark popped up with a clothesline and
tagged Baszler back into the match. Valkyria tagged in and
landed a bridge suplex on Baszler for a two-count. With
Baszler on the outside, Valkyria set up for a dive, but
Stark came off the top to cut Valkyria off. Baszler suplexed
Valkyria and Stark came off the top with a neck-breaker.
Baszler set Valkyria up, but Valkyria rolled onto Baszler
and advanced her team.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria defeated Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
to advance in the gauntlet match [3:20].
Natalya & Maxxine Dupri made their entrance as the next team
in the match as the show went to a commercial break. The
show returned and Valkyria was in the ring with Natalya
briefly until Bayley tagged in. Natalya welcomed her with a
twisting clothesline. Dupri tagged in to a loud pop and hit
a cross-body from the top rope for a two-count on Bayley.
Dupri fired up and landed a splash on both Bayley and
Valkyria in a corner. Dupri did her Worm elbow-drop, but
Bayley kicked out. Dupri went for a Sharpshooter and Bayley
rolled Dupri to advance.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria defeated Natalya & Maxxine Dupri to
advance in the gauntlet match [2:03 of TV time].
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance rushed to the ring as the next
team in the match and hit a bunch of double-team moves on
Bayley. After their fury, Bayley hit an elbow drop on Carter
for a two-count. Valkyria tagged in and Carter landed a
running boot to Valkyria’s head. Carter and Chance hit the
Keg Stand, but Valkyria kicked out. Carter landed a
Corkscrew dive onto Bayley on the outside while inside the
ring, Valkyria landed Night Wing on Chance to advance.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria defeated Kayden Carter & Katana
Chance to advance in the gauntlet match [2:07].
Michin & B-Fab made their entrance as the show went to
another commercial break. Back from that break, B-Fab gave
Valkyria a boot to the face. Michin tagged in and went to
work on Valkyria until Valkyria slowed Michin down and
tagged in Bayley. Michin didn’t flinch and gave Bayley a
Tornado DDT for a two-count. B-Fab tagged in and kicked
Bayley in the face. B-Fab landed a sort of front-neck-
breaker for a two-count. Michin dropkicked Valkyria and hit
a splash on her while she was on the outside. Meanwhile, on
the inside, Bayley hit the Rose Plant on B-Fab to advance.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria defeated B-Fab & Michin to advance in
the gauntlet match [2:01 of TV time].
Piper Niven and Alba Fyre made their entrance as the final
team in the gauntlet. Fyre went to work on Bayley, turning
her attention to Bayley’s leg as Niven ran Valkyria into the
ring steps on the outside. Niven hit a Senton on Bayley for
a two-count. The show then went to another commercial break.
The show returned and Niven slammed Bayley. Niven then
slammed Fyre onto Bayley for a two-count. Niven tagged in
and Bayley DDT’d Niven and Fyre at the same time.
Valkyria ultimately received the hot tag and Valkyria landed
a cross-body onto Niven. Valkyria hit a Tornado DDT on Niven
and went for a fisherman’s suplex, but Niven countered into
a suplex of her own. Niven went to the second rope and
saluted the crowd, but Valkyria cut Niven off and
powerbombed her. Bayley tagged in and hit the flying elbow
from the top rope, but Niven kicked out at one. Niven
followed that with a sidewalk slam on Bayley. Fyre tagged in
and and hit what appeared to be the Secret Hervice’s
finisher, but Valkyria barely broke the pin up at 2.99999 to
keep things going.
All four women brawled in the middle of the ring. Bayley hit
a Bayley-To-Belly on Fyre while Niven landed a headbutt on
Valkyria. Valkyria pushed Niven to the outside and the two
then battled on the apron. Valkyria powerbombed Niven onto
the floor and Fyre rolled Bayley up for a near-fall. Fyre
lifted Bayley, but Bayley got loose and tagged in Valkyria.
Bayley hit Rose Plan and Valkyria came off the top with a
leg drop, which got her team the win.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria defeated Piper Niven & Alba Fyre to
win the gauntlet match. [10:31]
After the match, Morgan and Rodriguez entered the ring to
engage in a stare down with Bayley and Valkyria.
**********
– Tessitore explained that Charlotte and Tiffy have been
disciplined due to what happened last week. A video
recapping the Priest/McIntyre car spot from two weeks ago
then aired.
– A video looking at The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania
18 aired.
The Damian Priest/Drew McIntyre segment
A lot of good energy here and both guys sold the hell out of
that Future Shock DDT on the ring steps. I actually thought
we wouldn’t see more of Priest after he went away at first,
but I was glad to see him get back to the ring to mix things
up some more – even if it didn’t quite benefit him in the
end. They’ve worked hard to heat this thing up and all
things honest, I didn’t think they could do much with the
program. But these brawl segments, complete with the real-
glass-windshield spot two weeks ago, have helped this viewer
gain at least a moderate amount of interest in what’s
happening between McIntyre and Priest. I’m not so sure the
match is a year in the making, like McIntyre claimed during
his promo, but we’re better off today on this than we were
yesterday, and that’s thanks to the wrestlers’ commitment to
getting this match over.
Damian Priest made his entrance and while he was doing so,
Drew McIntyre attacked him from behind. McIntyre slammed
Priest into an LED board in the entranceway. Priest was
helped to the back and McIntyre grabbed a microphone.
McIntyre used some eye/seeing puns and called McIntyre said
Priest benefited every time McIntyre got screwed. McIntyre
noted how Priest challenged McIntyre to street fight even
though McIntyre has only one eye, because that’s the kind of
man Priest is. McIntyre’s remarks were getting cheers from
the crowd. McIntyre ripped his eye patch off and said he is
100 percent cleared, which means Priest will be 100 percent
screwed at Mania.
Priest reappeared in the entranceway and fought off
officials to get back to Drew. In the ring, Priest gave Drew
a clothesline and a splash in a corner. Priest then
clotheslined Drew over the top to the outside. While on the
outside, McIntyre grabbed the steel steps and rammed them
into Priest’s head. Drew was bleeding from somewhere and
pushed the officials away. From there, McIntyre hit the
Future Shock DDT on Priest onto the ring steps. McIntyre
then ripped a necklace off Preist’s neck. McIntyre’s music
hit to end the segment.
**********
– #DIY and Pretty Deadly were watching footage from #DIY’s
match last week. Ciampa said he thinks there is a conspiracy
to keep #DIY away from the tag titles. Pretty Deadly said
Gargano and Ciampa have gone crazy. Elton Prince said
desperation doesn’t look good on Gargano and Ciampa. Motor
City Machine Guns walked into the frame after Pretty Deadly
left. Chris Sabin said they’re going to face the Street
Profits on next week’s SmackDown for the tag titles.
– A video celebrating Triple H, the King Of The Ring and the
WWE Hall Of Fame aired.
Rey Fenix defeated Berto [10:42]
The post-match thing was kind of odd. I was expecting
Escobar to turn around and attack Fenix, but maybe this
means Fenix is Legado Del Fantasma bound. Unless if we’re
supposed to buy Escobar as a babyface sometime soon. And …
well … no. Or, we’ll just go boilerplate and Escobar ends up
attacking Fenix next week. Either way, this match was more
competitive than it needed to be. Fenix is WWE’s newest star
and Berto has been treading water whenever they throw him on
TV for a long time now. Nearly 11 minutes seemed like a bit
much, but Berto delivered and Fenix did, too. This was
probably Berto’s best singles match on the main roster …
ever? Someone will correct me. This was really pretty good,
though. Lots of good action tonight.
Fenix went for pins early on to no avail. Berto clotheslined
the hell out of Fenix to slow things down. Berto landed a
chop, but Fenix came right back with a kick to Berto’s
midsection. Berto regained control with a series of boots.
Fenix went to the top, but Berto pushed Fenix off and to the
outside, where Berto hit a dive onto Fenix. The show then
went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Berto still had the upper hand until
he ran into a boot from Fenix. Fenix followed that up with a
shotgun dropkick from the top rope. Fenix chopped Berto
repeatedly and hit a moonsault headbutt from the top. Fenix
followed up with a double-stomp on Berto’s back. Fenix fired
up the crowd and hit a corkscrew splash over the ropes and
to the outside. Back inside the ring, Fenix landed a rolling
Frog Splash for a two-count.
Before long, Berto placed Fenix on the top rope and executed
a leaping kick for a nice near-fall. Berto sunset-flipped
Fenix and followed that with a sit-out powerbomb for another
nice near-fall. Fenix was perched on the top and Berto
chopped his chest. Fenix fought back and hit a jumping
Frankensteiner, but Berto barely kicked out at 2.9. Berto
came back with a stiff-looking powerbomb for a great near-
fall. Berto went to the top and went for a moonsault, but
Fenix got his feet up to reset things. Fenix walked the top
rope and kicked Berto in the face. It wasn’t long after that
when Fenix landed the Mexican Muscle Buster for the win.
After the match, Escobar walked out and made Berto shake
Fenix’s hand. Berto did so begrudlingly. Escobar, himself,
then shook Fenix’s hand and that ended things.
**********
– Byron Saxton interviewed Roxanne Perez backstage. Perez
was in front of Aldis’s office. Perez said she was ready to
steal the show because Tiffy can’t stand the pressure. Tiffy
showed up out of nowhere and said Perez could learn
something from her. The two squabbled and Aldis walked out
of his office. Tiffy said she’d face Perez tonight in a
match and Aldis said he’d think about it.
– A video about CM Punk and Paul Heyman’s relationship
aired. It chronicled their history as best buds.
– Chelsea Green was trying to get into the trainers’ room to
talk to Fyre and Niven, but the door was locked. Zelina Vega
walked by and told Green she’d have to see what type of
champion she really is. Vega then made her entrance for the
next match.
Zelina Vega defeated Chelsea Green via count out [1:04]
This has to be the quickest 10 count in the history of
wrestling. This was so awkward. The live crowd didn’t even
appear to have an idea of what was happening when the bell
rang to end the match. Umpf.
Green started the match by throwing her dress at Vega and
attacking her. Green hit a dropkick that sent Vega to the
outside. Green threw Vega into the crowd barrier and then
dropped Vega on top of the commentary table. Green threw
Vegan back into the ring and jawed at the commentary table.
I guess that was enough for a 10 count and Green lost via
count out.
**********
– Escobar was backstage and told Berto he was extremely
disappointed in Berto. Escobar wanted to go find Fenix to
congratulate him on a job well done. Angel left with Escobar
after tapping Berto on the leg.
– In a separate segment, Andrade approached Berto and told
him he’s a great wrestler and he needs to keep his head up.
Berto stood up and told Andrade to mind his own business.
– A Naomi vignette aired. A Jade Cargill vignette aired
right after that. Both were very good.
– Cody Rhodes made his entrance. A bunch of designs of
former world titles were set up on tables inside the ring
for his segment.
The Cody Rhodes segment
This was clever in a cute way, but it was made better
because of Cody’s fire. His intensity made it work and that
was kind of/sort of impressive, considering how he’s been
forced to run solo so often in this build to his Mania main
event. Cody’s logic is sound and the story they are telling
works in its own way, but we can all agree at this point
that the lack of tie-in to how or why Cena decided to align
with The Rock to kick this whole thing off makes everything
feel lacking in one way or another. Cena spent the first
couple weeks whining about the fans. Things got a little
better between the two since then, but this is still a story
that has too many holes. Cody has done his best to keep the
fire, though, and this was no exception. He deserves a lot
of credit for keeping things afloat.
Cody fired up and already-fired-up crowd before he began
talking. The Seattle crowd launched into the European Cody
Rhodes chant. Cody said the crowd had him flustered and he
thanked the crowd. Cody talked about when he “did Defy,”
which made some people happy. Cody pointed to his title said
it means he’s “the best wrestler in the world.” Cody said
he’s blessed to carry that belt, but it won’t always be him.
Cody said his Mania match is about keeping that title home.
Cody said it’s about the 20 champions and not just him.
Cody said there is one man trying to take all that away –
John Cena. “Let’s go Cena/Cena sucks!” chants started in the
crowd and Cody paused. Cody said Cena has neglected to make
Seattle part of his farewell tour and the crowd booed. Cody
said Cena will be in Vegas for SmackDown next week. Cody
said one thing Cena said that sticks with him is what Cena
said about Cody’s tattoo – it’s that Cody is just a “common
fan.” Cody said, “So what?” Cody says he has the tattoo for
the same reason he wears suits and that’s to be somebody.
Cody ran through the titles on the tables and paid homage to
all the former WWE Champions. He mentioned “Latino Heat” and
the crowd chanted “Eddie!”
Cody spun the spinner belt and mentioned Cena. Cody said
Cena looks at the spinner belt and considers it a bad thing,
but Cody doesn’t. Cody talked about how Cena said Cody isn’t
authentic, but he said he’s the WWE Champion and Cena is
not. Cody said he might be able to teach John Cena a lesson
– it’s that the crowd is allowed to love somebody else. Cody
talked about all the other WWE stars and the crowd cheered.
Cody said Cena is a man of his word, so that means Cena
means he actually take the WWE title home. Cody looked into
the camera and said the bell is going to ring and he will
leave Cena to the ring to have his moment because Cody’s
time is now while Cena’s time is up. Cody said one day, his
time will be up, too, but for now, Cody’s title will stay
home and “stay with us.” Cody’s music hit to end the
segment.
**********
– Next week, per the commentary team, John Cena will return.
The Andre The Giant Battle Royal will also go down. Vega,
Chance & Carter will take on The Green Regime as well. The
Street Profits will defend their tag titles against the
Motor City Machine Guns, too.
– Saxton interviewed The Profits backstage. Ford said they
like MCMG and referenced how they don’t care about a bunch
of stuff but the reason they don’t care about them is
because they don’t have them. Dawkins said something about
“the IWC glazers” in reference to MCMG. Melo and Miz showed
up and Miz said the fact that the tag titles aren’t on the
Mania card is an insult to the titles and the Profits. Miz
said he’s putting them on notice because of as much. Melo
said they most definitely want the smoke and walked away.
Dawkins was angry.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Roxanne Perez [9:17]
Rock-C (as some of us may remember her) looked really good
in this position – which is a position that felt very last
minute, even if it wasn’t. I’m a bit worried because between
this and the start/stop of her program with Bayley, I wonder
if the main roster actually has clear plans for Perez
whenever she gets there full-time – or if the main roster
doesn’t have clear plans for Perez whenever she gets there
full-time. I’d hate to see her fade into the fold because
she has so much talent and she’s so young and that future of
hers is just so bright. I’m praying for anything but a
makeshift tag-team that sees her play a reluctant partner to
a more established character that is on the other side of
their career (hi, Melo and Miz!). I’m glad the post-match
attack happened because that furthers the Charlotte and
Tiffy story. The only problem was that it was too brief.
Perez went for a strike and Tiffy caught her. Tiffy
shoulder-blocked Perez to the ground. Perez came back and
worked a side head-lock before whipping Tiffy to the ground
by her hair. Stratton slapped Perez and followed up with a
bunch of arm-drags. Tiffy suplexed Perez a couple times for
a two-count. Perez grabbed the ring apron and while the
referee wasn’t looking, raked Tiffy’s eyes. Perez ran Tiffy
into the ring post and stomped on Tiffy’s left arm. The show
went to a commercial break.
Back from break, Tiffy hit a spinebuster for a two-count.
Perez went for Tiffy’s arm after that, but ran into a pop-up
powerbomb for a two-count. Tiffy missed a hip attack and
Perez slammed Tiffy before stepping over her. Perez went for
a moonsault from the second rope, but Tiffy got her knees
up. From there Tiffy went to the top, but Perez cut her off
and hit a Russian Leg Sweep from the top, followed by a kick
to the midsection. Perez went for a Pop Rox, but Tiffy
countered and the two traded pin attempts to no avail. Perez
worked a cross-face, but Tiffy powered out, slammed Perez
and hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the win.
After the match, Charlotte appeared in street clothes out of
nowhere and attacked Stratton. Charlotte threw Tiffy over
the commentary table and pushed Wade Barrett. The two had a
weird standoff and Charlotte stood on the commentary table.
Stratton sold midsection pain while Charlotte walked away.
**********
– A vignette chronicling the Punk/Heyman favor aired,
complete with the presence of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
– The Mania cards were revealed. On Saturday:
Reigns/Punk/Rollins. Cargill/Naomi. War Raiders/New Day.
Mysterio/Grande Americano. Knight/Fatu. Stratton/Charlotte.
Gunther/Jey Uso. On Sunday: Bayley & Lyra/Raquel & Liv.
Priest/McIntyre. Penta/Dom/Bron/Balor. Styles/Paul.
SKY/Belair/Ripley. Cody/Cena. By my count, that’s seven
matches on Night One and six on Night Two. We still don’t
have an official Orton match. Something tells me these
actually won’t be the final official cards for both nights.
LA Knight & Randy Orton defeated Tama Tonga & Solo Sikoa
[8:58]
Man. I said that stuff about Sikoa and Orton at Mania
earlier thinking there was no way that was the actual
direction they were going in, but … I guess they are? If
anything, I could live with a squash. Bell rings. RKO.
Goodnight, Solo Sikoa. There have been some rumblings about
a tag and a potential former star returning to tag with
Orton, depending on what you read, but we’ll leave that to
speculation. If Orton’s replacement opponent ends up being
Sikoa and only Sikoa, though … well, shoot. As for this
match, it was fine for what it was. I actually liked
switching up Orton’s Greatest Hits and putting them at the
front of the match, making some of us think that perhaps it
was going to be a quick one and an angle was on the way. It
was not to be. Overall, SmackDown needs a reboot. We knew
that. But seeing a star like Orton just sort of twist in the
wind on Friday nights feels wrong at this point. Maybe post-
Mania, changes are afoot.
Knight and Tonga started the match, with Tonga getting the
best of Knight. Sikoa tagged in and elbowed Knight to the
ground. Sikoa taunted Orton and Knight came back, throwing
Sikoa outside of the ring. Knight tagged Orton, who worked
over Sikoa, including his snap-powerslam. Ditto for Tonga.
Orton set Sikoa up for the draping DDT and actually hit it
very early in the match. Orton set up for the RKO, but Sikoa
countered into a Samoan Drop. Tonga dropkicked Knight off
the apron. The show went to its final commercial break.
The show returned and Orton was attempting to tag Knight,
but couldn’t get there. Sikoa knocked Knight off the apron
and worked a chin-lock on Orton. Eventually, Orton hit a
back suplex and got the hot tag to Knight. Tonga also tagged
in and Knight took care of him, complete with a Russian Leg
Sweep. Knight stomped on Tonga and gave Sikoa a neck-
breaker. Knight powerslammed Tonga. Knight landed an elbow
drop on Tonga, but Sikoa broke up the pin attempt. Sikoa
then hit a Samoan Spike on Knight. Orton gave an RKO to
Tonga and Sikoa brawled with Orton on the outside of the
ring. The two battled into the crowd. Back inside the ring,
Knight gave Tonga a BFT for the win.
After the match, Jacob Fatu showed up and super-kicked
Knight. Fatu hit a running Senton and headbutted Knight
repeatedly. Fatu landed a hip attack on Knight and followed
that up with his step-up moonsault. Fatu picked up the U.S.
title and threw it down in favor of another step-up
moonsault. The show ended with Fatu’s music playing and Fatu
licking the U.S. title … and then hitting another moonsault.